


Lost Hope

by Lolsnake9



Category: DC Universe Online, Green Lantern (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Canon, Angst, Character Death, Flashbacks, Light Bondage, M/M, Though that's obvious if you've read the comic already, Very briefly in a flashback sequence so idk if that counts but just in case
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-21
Updated: 2019-12-21
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:35:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21886063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lolsnake9/pseuds/Lolsnake9
Summary: Hal never really wanted it to come to this. Not after everything that’s happened. But even then…perhaps there was still some hope. Hope he never wanted to acknowledge.(Inspired by the #17 issue of DC Universe Online Legends comic because FUCK that ending destroyed me)
Relationships: Hal Jordan/Thaal Sinestro
Comments: 1
Kudos: 14





	Lost Hope

It all happened in an instant.

The chaos. The Sinestro Corps trying to stop Brainiac’s robotic minions. His struggle in trying to keep them all alive.

The searing pain of his ring hand being broken by one of Brainiac’s robot minions and the cold darkness immediately setting in.

“Concentrate, Hal!”

The last words spoken by Sinestro as he was trying to ward off Brainiac’s minions’ advances, echoing over and over as Hal continued sinking deeper towards the dark, unfeeling silence.

Until…it stopped.

For the first time in such a long time, Hal had felt peace.

* * *

Considering his job, Hal was bound to find himself knocked out or getting into near-death experiences to far more frequent extents than the average man, so much that he’s developed….a familiarity with the experience, so to say.

A gripping silence, unfeeling darkness gripping your entire being so tightly inside a seemingly infinite nothingness, numbing your entire senses and mind.

And every time he had felt it, he would always wonder if this was the end. If his time has come, at least until he found himself waking up in the medical of either the Corps’ headquarters in Oa or the League’s Watchtower. And every time he would express relief at being able to make it for another day, another time.

Sometimes though, it’s not all darkness and silence. Sometimes, he would have flashes of memories of everything that had led up to this point. Sometimes they were brief, blurry montages that he could barely register before he woke up. Other times they would be vivid dreams that would linger at the back of his mind even after waking up to the real world.

And it’s no different this time.

He saw the Guardians ordering the Corps to ensure a massacre between Sinestro Corps and Brainiac’s forces. The ruins of Korugar. And him eventually joining forces with Sinestro to defeat Brainiac.

Mostly they were just brief, momentary glimpses that flashed away in seconds, oversimplified versions of what had happened. Some of them were rather blurry for Hal to register before disappearing, likely becoming nothing more than hazy recollections when he wakes up from this one.

Yet the ones with Sinestro felt…different than most. They felt more tangible, more real, making Hal felt like he was really there.

Which, all things considered, he really didn’t want to.

He could remember every details of their meeting perfectly. From when Sinestro had at first attacked him from behind and accused him (him!) of destroying Korugar and hsi corps, to him taunting Hal about the Guardians’ orders (which he had chosen to disobey), to Hal arriving to assist Sinestro against Brainiac, to him providing atmosphere to keep the entire Sinestro Corps alive, at least long enough to be able to keep them staving off Brainiac’s minions until the Green Lantern Corps could stop him from escaping with the Yellow Central Battery.

When Hal got his hand broken….he had been unsure of the fate of the Sinestro Corps. He didn’t know if he had succeeded.

If…if he had failed, that means all those corps members would be dead, _Sinestro_ would be dead-

He couldn’t….he couldn’t have failed. He can’t have failed.

That’s when Hal saw another memory of his.

He was flying, up high in the vast orange evening sky inside the Ferris Airlines jet. Even now he remembered how much he had missed flying, something he hadn’t had much chance to do due to his duties as a Green Lantern.

In this moment, Hal didn’t understand why he, or his brain, would choose to bring up this one moment to him.

Not that he minded. Whenever he flew, he could always forget anything else in the world. Only focused on going the highest no man’s ever gone to-

Well, up until he noticed too late that he was flying straight to an unknown object in his flight path.

“What the-”

A crash. An explosion. A protective green barrier suddenly forming around him.

A floating red-skinned alien crossing his arms in front of him.

“You’re wasting your time, Green Lantern of Sector 2814.”

Oh.

It was that day.

“Who are you? What the hell are you doing?!”

“I am Sinestro. Green Lantern of Sector 1417. The most orderly sector in the universe.”

“What? Is that supposed to impress me? And who is going to pay 20$ million for this jet?”

“Your terrestrial matters should be of little concern, Earthman. You’re in the presence of a veteran. Never question your superior officers. Never challenge those more powerful than you.”

“Um…yeah. That’s not gonna work for me.”

Looking back, they didn’t start on each other’s foot really well. And it wasn’t surprising.

Hal Jordan, a man of unrestrained freedom, and Thaal Sinestro, a man of order.

Two opposites almost assuredly destined to clash in the future.

_(And yet, was it really necessary?)_

When suddenly, Hal found himself in another landscape, another memory.

A vast junkyard in a red terrain in some far-off planet in outer space which name he couldn’t even remember.

“You’re late, Jordan.”

And there he was. The asshole himself.

Flying downwards with crossed arms and radiating an air of the smuggest superiority possible.

It had been about two months since they became acquainted with each other, and while the two of them had more-or-less become ‘friends’, for the lack of a better term.

“Gimme a break. I had to sort some stuff at Ferris Air before going.” Hal said with a sneer.

“Haven’t I told you that your terrestrial affairs don’t concern me? And you should understand by now that matters concerning your job as a Green Lantern should be your top priority.”

“Yeah, yeah, I already know that, you don’t need to tell me twice.”

“The Guardians have assigned you as my responsibility. If necessary I will have to take….direct action about your irresponsibility.”

“Oh is that so? What are you gonna do? Ground me?” said Hal with a smirk.

It was an action he quickly regretted as Sinestro landed a hit against his right rib, sending him flying and crashing against a giant rock.

“Ow…fuck!” Hal groaned as he was trying to get back at his feet, not long before he was yanked up by a construct collar around his neck by Sinestro.

“Gah!”

“When you were chosen by the ring, you’re expected to take all of the responsibilities that come with it seriously, and I,” Sinestro hissed with a tug. “Am here to ensure you understand that. You should know that had it not been for my interference the GUardians would have landed you a harsh punishment on your first day of training. I expect you to not prove my graces on you to be a waste, Human.”

Hal spitted off to his side and muttered, “Screw you.”

Sinestro’s lips quirked upwards. “Still, however annoying it is, your impudence is something I can find charming nonetheless. No worries, we’ll have plenty of time to teach you to control that.” he said as the collar disappeared, causing Hal to lose balance before properly standing on his feet.

“Now, shall we start the training properly, Lantern?”

And another. Standing on the edge of a faraway sector after a patrol. Hal was sitting on an asteroid with Sinestro standing besides him watching the universe around them.

“What are you thinking about, Sin?”

”Look at all this disorder and mess, Jordan. We have the universe’s most powerful weapon slipped in our finger, and yet during the billions of years of the Corps’ existence we still haven’t been able to enforce complete order because of those who order but never interfere.”

“What do you mean?”

“The Guardians are ineffective in their jobs. They only concern themselves with their own mysteries, always hiding something from those whom they themselves have granted the power to guard the universe to. And such, order can never be realized as long as they remain in power.”

“Huh, well…I’m not exactly a fan of them either. They look like a bunch of shady, dismissive assholes either way. But you’ve always talked about order from the start. Is that all you think about?”

“Order is what keeps the universe safe, Jordan. It’s our job as the protectors. While I myself have managed to establish order in my own planet and the surrounding areas in my sector, not many others have done, or want to achieve the same. As my protege, Jordan, you need to realize…and understand a proper example of an orderly universe. Perhaps bringing you along to Korugar can help that.”

“Huh? You’re asking me to come to your planet?”

“Why? You have no desire to?”

“No! I mean, I’m honored to be asked to come to Korugar. It’s just that….you’ve never told me about your planet before…”

“Well, then it’s a mistake I intend to rectify now.”

Hal quickly shuffled from his position to stand up straight.

“Wait, what? We’re going now?”

“Is there a problem?”

“I just…I don’t know, I want to go with you, obviously, but….I don’t feel ready yet. It’s all so sudden, so….”

Even back then, Hal was already feeling that something was off, but didn’t say it out loud.

“Hm. Well, there’s no need to rush. We can go anytime you’re ready.”

”Huh? Wait, did you just accept my refusal?”

“What?”

“Usually you would just drag me off anyway despite me saying no.”

“Well, do you want to now?”

“No!”

“Listen Jordan, I intend to push you to your limits during your training because it is necessary for you to fully realize your potential and use it to utilise the full capabilities of a ring. But during times like these….sometimes a bit of break is needed.”

“Okay okay, I get it. You know….you really do amuse me sometimes, Sin.”

“Not as much as you do with your endless stupidity.”

“Asshole.”

And another. Going to a secluded planet in Sector 414. Sitting together in front of a vast garden watching the planet’s sun go down in the purple sky.

A long moment of silence as their ring hands slowly got closer and intertwined.

And for the first time, he - Thaal….had said those damning words to him.

“I love you.”

Afterwards the memories became blurrier and blurrier and more fast-paced than the last, though Hal could still remember each of them like they still happened yesterday.

His and Sinestro’s growing trust. The day Hal discovered the truth about Korugar. The day Sinestro built his own corps of fear. Parallax. The War.

And then….there were the smaller, quieter ones. The brief, fleeting moments of tender love and affection they wouldn’t let anyone else know.

The heated passions behind closed doors.

People say that when you die, you will see montages of your entire life playing out before you.

Hal wasn’t sure this is what they meant, by being forced to watch the memories, both good and bad, of your former-mentor-slash-lover-slash-enemy.

The ones whom he had desperately tried to kill and bury away, clawing at him on the inside like a growing infection from untreatable wounds.

A reminder of the hope he’s lost.

Still…even now, no matter how much Hal tried to repress it, tried so desperately to swat away, there is still this one constant question that has lingered on the back on his mind since the day of Sinestro’s expulsion.

_“Could things have been different?”_

Hal’s not stupid. He knew fully well the reason why he defied the Guardians’ orders and went to help Sinestro Corps defeat Brainiac.

 _“This isn’t about you,”_ he had said to Sinestro.

But at the same time, Hal has always had repressed his true feelings, his true intentions for the sake of his duty as a Green Lantern. So much that he didn’t know he was lying to himself.

Was there another reason why he went through such lengths to help Sinestro, despite everything. Could it be that he wanted to relive those moments of the old days, the days of fighting side-by-side alongside his mentor, friend…perhaps something more? _(Had those days of mutual affection even ever been real at all?)_

Could it be he wanted another chance to try to work things out again between them?

Hal thought he had lost the ability to hope a long time ago. Had abandoned it, thinking that hope was worthless.

Now he wonders if he had been afraid to acknowledge that hope. Afraid of the things he saw while wearing the Blue Lantern ring.

_“I can’t do this without you.”_

_“Hal….”_

Even now, Hal could still hear someone calling for him. Tha- _Sinestro_ had been there by his side when he got attacked. He had called him ‘Hal’ back then too.

Hal knew it was foolish to believe that Sinestro would actually be there, at Hal’s side waiting for him to wake up. Trying to get him to wake up by calling out to him, with his first name, something he had almost never done since his betrayal.

But…just once, just this one time, Hal allowed himself to hope again.

_“Hal…”_

The voice became louder as Hal felt light slowly dawn up on him. And at the same time, he could bring himself to call out to him too, no matter how weak it might have come out.

_“Sin…..”_

* * *

“Sinestro. What’s…?”

When Hal opened his eyes, he found himself floating in outer space, his broken ring hand wrapped in a construct cast.

He held his head, still pounding from the pain after waking up with his left hand, and looked around to see John and the rest of the Green Lantern Corps around him, and-

….and the torn corpses of countless Sinestro Corps members floating around them as well.

“John?”

_No._

“They’re gone, Hal.”

_No._

“Brainiac’s forces. They broke the containment.”

_There’s no way this can be happening. No._

“We tried to stop them, but….they were too fast.”

“What….”

Hal didn’t even care about Brainiac at this point. He frantically tried to look at every direction, trying to find a single survivor from Brainiac’s ship. Trying to find him.

But no. He wasn’t there.

“Is….is the entire Sinestro Corps dead?” Hal asked. He didn’t have the heart to specifically, directly ask what he really wanted to know; he wasn’t ready for that. He could never be.

John looked at Hal with an almost confused expression. He opened his mouth to speak before being interrupted by Guy.

“Well, when ol’ Brainy started to make his escape and we swooped in to grab you and get the hell outta there, most of them were already pretty dead due to their rings not having any power. Since Brainiac has the Yellow Central Battery I doubt any of them would still be able to survive for this long.”

Hal could only stare in silence. He tried to get a single word out in response, but couldn’t. He felt like all the nerves in his body have been frozen.

He didn’t even have the capacity to notice the tears slowly welling up in his eyes.

“Anyways! Brainiac might have escaped, but we still managed to have Sinestro’s entire corps eradicated, so I still consider it a success! We’ll obviously need a lot of beers to celebrate!” Guy merrily said while throwing his hands up in the air.

“Guy!” John shouted.

It was at that moment that a blood-soaked yellow ring floated at Hal’s direction.

Hal didn’t even know if it really was Thaal’s ring. If it didn’t belong to a random Sinestro Corps member whose lifeless carcass had been floating in the empty space for quite a while around them now.

But….it didn’t matter. For at this point, Hal would grab at anything, anything at all….to serve as a reminder of the man he had loved, the man who had loved him.

And so Hal reached out with his left, unbroken hand and held the ring inside his hand, still feeling the warm drip of blood going between his fingers.

He grabbed the ring tightly, as if with no intention of ever letting it go. Hal imagined that he was tightly gripping the hand of the man whom this ring had belonged to instead, all while finally letting out a broken sob that had been stuck in his throat with tears finally freely flowing down his face.

"Hal?"

He didn’t even care about how this might have looked to all of his other fellow Lanterns surrounding him, to see one of their own mourning one of their most dangerous enemies, who had betrayed them many years prior and caused many deaths of their own.

Hal had had lost a lot before. He had gotten used to people he cared about leaving him, through death or otherwise. It was what allowed him to become stronger every time, rising from his fall and overcoming it.

But now, he’s not sure he can ever overcome this one. Not when he now has that yellow ring as a reminder of his failure.

Later that night, when Hal goes to sleep, all curled up in his bed while holding that yellow ring close to him, drifting away to his dreams to be reminded again of what he could have had, he hopes that he would just never wake up again, to think that otherwise he would be brought back to the reality where he has lost it all.

Then again, at this point Hal doesn’t know if he could ever find it in his heart to hope again, not when it would only make his grief worse when he inevitably loses it all again.

**Author's Note:**

> Well, I've already had this fic development since about a month ago, but Uni really took up a lot of my time so I only had time to finish it during my semester holiday bleh
> 
> Anyways, I first already saw several panels of Hal/Sin moments from this comic on Tumblr and obviously enjoyed it, but then I went on to actually read the two issues and BAM that fucking ending in #17 hit me like a truck and I deadass cried in class
> 
> Like I know I'm probably overthinking this (as I usually do) but honestly....that little detail of Hal thinking it was Sinestro who called him (by his first name!) just did it for me. Like, fuck. Tom Taylor really providing us with the good (read: painful) shit in a game tie-in comic a full three years before Injustice.
> 
> Anyways enough of my pointless gushing, thank you so much for reading! Please leave a comment and have a good day!


End file.
